"The death of media freedom and independence, once you have seen it, hardly ever unfolds in new or surprising ways. From the majority world to the minority world, media freedom and independence do not disappear in ways that makes one surprised at the novelty of disappearance. They die in very path-dependent and boring ways, more often than not with the help of news organizations and actors. Knowingly or unknowingly - but still with their help."
"The thing about normalization is that it unfolds in an environment where abnormal things are talked about to such an extent that an individual eventually finds them less abhorrent. They begin to operate as water does to fish, there but not really there. With a wink and a nod, actors talk about a third term as something that can and should be debated, and they know that the more they talk about it, the more it will be treated as legitimate"
Media freedom and independence erode slowly and predictably through path-dependent processes rather than sudden ruptures. News organizations and media actors frequently enable that erosion, sometimes knowingly but also unknowingly, by normalizing abnormal ideas. Repeated public discussion of unconstitutional measures, such as term extensions, shifts public perception and moves the Overton window toward acceptance. Normalization makes previously abhorrent ideas feel less shocking and creates ambiguity around legitimacy. The narrowing of media space often accompanies debates that permit constriction of press freedoms, with critical and satirical voices removed from public platforms.
Read at Nieman Lab
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